The role of AhR in transcriptional regulation of immune cell development and function

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcriptional factor (TF) that is a member of the Per-Arnt-Sim family of proteins. AhR regulates diverse processes, including malignant transformation, hematopoietic cell development, and fate determination of immune cell lineages. Moreover, AhR forms a crucial link between innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Malignant cells frequently evolve multiple mechanisms for suppressing tumor-specific responses, including the induction of suppressive pathways involving AhR and its metabolic byproducts in the tumor microenvironment that promote immune evasion and tumor progression. Thus, interest is high in further defining the role of AhR in carcinogenesis and immune development and regulation, particularly regarding the therapeutic interventions that unleash immune responses to cancer cells. Here, we provide an overview of the role of AhR in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune response and discuss the implications of targeting this pathway to augment the immune response in cancer patients.